


Oxygen

by Cinnamean



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Cuddles, Fainting, Homesickness, It's minor though don't worry, Langst, M/M, Mention of Eating Disorders, Mentions of Death, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sleep Deprivation, suffocation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-23 14:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11404656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnamean/pseuds/Cinnamean
Summary: After the castle basically tried to eject Lance out into space, he hasn't been able to sleep without nightmares of suffocating plaguing him nightly. His sleep deprivation proves to be a problem when they head into battle.OrLance is sleep deprived, almost gets hurt, and Hunk helps him through it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my friend Nathali for helping me go through this fic and comb it free of plot holes and mistakes!
> 
> I wrote all of this in maybe 12 hours and it's a little long so I'm going to break it into two parts. Next chapter will be up soon!
> 
> Enjoy!

The air was suffocating him. Or maybe it was the  _ lack _ of air that was so painful. The wind rushed past him into the void of space, the water-less hurricane threatening to make him lose his grip.

 

Lance desperately clung to the slippery metal of the airlock, his body horizontal to the ground and his legs flailing behind him. His lungs begged for oxygen, but it all flowed past him in a strong current, none of it making its way into his gaping mouth.

 

He tried screaming for help, but his body refused to listen to him. He felt like his body was being crushed. His eyes were dry. His mouth was stuck wording soundless screams to deaf ears. His grip was so tight that his knuckles were white. 

 

There was a loud clang and Lance felt the metal crumbling beneath his clenched fingers. The metal tore apart and despite his eyes being drier than the deserts of Earth, he felt them sting with tears. The metal fell away and Lance’s leverage finally slipped. In less than a second, he was hurled out into space with no armor to protect him from being destroyed. 

 

His chest collapsed on itself.

 

Eyes frozen.

 

Lungs  _ still _ devoid of any oxygen.

 

He was dying, he was dying, HE WAS DYING,  _ HE WAS DYI- _

 

Lance’s eyes flew open and he jerked upright in his bed, still registering that he was no longer stuck in his dream. Well, less of a dream and more of a nightmare. He sat there with his mouth wide open and sucking in as much air as his lungs could handle without them popping like balloons. His body was drenched in a disgusting sheen of cold sweat and he could not stop shivering. He pulled his hands close to his chest and clenched them tightly, the fingernails digging into the soft flesh of his palm. 

 

The terror still consumed him. His breathing refused to calm down, his shoulders heaving, and he felt himself teetering on the edge of a panic attack. Doing what his mother taught him, he counted slowly in his head, trying to line up his breathing with the numbers. It worked. Sort of. Not really.

 

He felt a soft pressure at the front of his mind. Blue was probing him with concern, asking if he was alright. Lance mentally leaned into her touch, welcoming the comfort she provided. “I’m fine, beautiful,” he whispered under his breath, his voice rough. 

 

Sitting up with a groan, he stood up on shaky legs and to the bathroom. Flipping the light switch on, he glimpsed in the mirror and winced at the sight of himself. 

 

Jesus  _ Christ _ , looked like absolute  _ garbage _ .

 

Deep bags hung beneath his bloodshot eyes and he noticed the dried tear stains trailing down his cheeks. His usual tan skin was paler than usual, like he had missed bathing in sunlight for months. The pajamas he had found in the castle were soaked through with sweat, sticking uncomfortably to his torso. He looked down at his still-shaking hands, looking at the red crescents that his fingernails had left behind.

 

With a deep sigh, he peeled off his shirt and threw it in a corner for it to be forgotten. He turned on the faucet and let his hands rest under the cold water before he splashed some on his face. Glancing at his skin care bottles on the counter, he shrugged and left the bathroom without doing his routine. He felt too tired to go through the effort today. 

 

Getting dressed in his only outfit he had from Earth, he headed out towards what he had dubbed the “living room” of the castle. He sat down on one of the couches with a huff, sinking into the soft cushions with another sigh. 

 

He looked up at one of the Altean clocks that Pidge had installed onto the wall to check the time. 

 

_ 5:12 CT (castle time) _

 

Lance groaned, tossing his head back in exasperation. Nobody else would be up for at least a few more hours. Well, Pidge might be up still, but Lance was almost certain that the little gremlin didn’t need sleep and had evolved into a higher state of being. She was probably fueled by space caffeine and sarcasm at this point. 

 

Lance grabbed on of the toss pillows from the couch and rested his head on it. Maybe he would be able to catch a few more Z’s and wake up at a more reasonable time. 

 

He closed his eyes and felt himself drift off.

 

_ Cold endless space. _

 

_ Air being ripped from his lungs. _

 

_ He was slipping. _

 

_ He was slipping.  _

 

_ He wAS SLIPP _ **_ING-_ **

 

His entire body spasmed, forcing himself awake from the nightmare. He was short of breath, taking in deep lungfuls of sweet, sweet oxygen. His hands were shaking again. 

 

Sitting up, he grabbed the pillow and hugged it to his chest, curling up on himself. “Guess I’ll just have to wait it out,” he murmured to  himself.

 

His eyelids would start to slip shut, but as soon as they were fully closed, his body would jerk him awake. He couldn’t sleep even if he were to try.

 

It was a long couple of hours before Shiro finally passed through the room towards the kitchen. Springing off the couch, Lance casually greeted his leader good morning. Luckily, the other didn’t even question why he was awake already. 

 

Lance never felt so relieved to have social interaction in his life.

 

* * *

 

 

Over the next week, Lance felt more and more drained. Each hour awake was a chore that he couldn’t finish and training was like a personal hell.

 

“Do you need to take a break, Lance?” Shiro would ask him.

 

Then Lance would push himself up off the ground with shaky arms and cough in reply, “Nah, I’m fine. Start the level again.”

 

The one-sided fight would continue until Lance would finally be tagged out by someone and he could rest on the sidelines. There, he watched his teammates fight against the gladiator, ducking each one of its attacks with ease and managing to land hits whereas Lance couldn’t even stay on his feet. Guilt tore its way at his gut. How was he going to be the team’s sharpshooter if he could not even manage to keep his gun steady enough to shoot? 

 

Keith’s sword swung elegantly, cutting through the air with grace. Hunk would stay on the outskirts of the fight, keeping his distance and strategizing his plan. Pidge attacked in short bursts and then jumped back before the bot could land a blow. Shiro pummeled the gladiator, ending the battle shortly after it started.

 

Then there Lance was.

 

Eventually, his eyelids would grow heavy and threaten to shut, but he forced himself to stay awake and attentive so that he would not have to suffer through Allura’s scolding. 

 

During one training session, he actually did fall asleep to the rhythmic sound of swords clashing. Not even thirty minutes later, he woke up with a strangled scream suppressed in his throat; the feeling of ice still ghosting over his skin. Coran was off in the corner of the room checking up on the room’s functions and noticed Lance waking up. If he noticed Lance’s panic when he woke up, he didn’t mention it.

 

His walking slowly morphed into a tired shuffle. He started eating less, the anxiety making it hard to stomach any food. Hunk seemed to be especially worried over this when Lance didn’t scarf down his food within seconds like he usually did.

 

Lance could feel his teammates’ concern (especially Hunk’s), but he continued to brush off his exhaustion and say he was fine. The concern was easily mistaken as judging, even if Lance knew that wasn’t what their side glances were for.

 

The days got harder with every passing tick.

 

* * *

 

 

Lance was suffering through yet another sleepless night. He laid down on his bed, staring up at the blank ceiling above, missing the glow-in-the-dark stars he had back home. He felt somewhat silly for wanting them, considering he was literally surrounded by real stars just out the window, but the flaming balls of gas didn’t provide him with any comfort.

 

_ Cold, dark, suffocating. _

 

Lance shivered, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm himself up. No, those stars outside only reminded him of the same nightmare that has been plaguing him for an entire week. Everyone else had gotten over the castle’s haunting pretty quickly. Hell, Allura basically had to say goodbye to her father again and she was doing better than he was. 

 

He just needed to get over it.

 

Except he couldn’t. Every time his eyes closed, he felt the vacuum of space pulling him backward into certain death. It promised coldness. It promised loneliness. Most of all, it promised pain.

 

He was sure he was going to go insane if this torture held on any longer. He blacked out at breakfast once already and everyone was starting to doubt his excuses. If he kept this up, he knew something bad was going to happen to him eventually.

 

As soon as he finished that thought, the alarm went off overhead, quickly erasing any traces of drowsiness from his head. He jumped out of bed, almost crashing to the floor when the world swerved dangerously. Using the wall as support, he sluggishly put on his armor and went as fast as he could to the control room. 

 

By the time he got there, everyone else was already in the room. Allura looked impatient.

 

Allura cleared her throat. “Sorry to disrupt your sleep, paladins, but I received an alert of a fleet of Galra ships on a planet not far from our location. Unfortunately, they seem to have spotted us and are already headed our way. We have some time, but hurry to your lions and be prepared.”

 

Everyone nodded and ran off in their separate directions towards their respective hangars. 

 

Lance’s vision was tilting dangerously as he moved, but he dared not mention it to Allura. He refused to drag the team down just because he hadn’t gotten his beauty sleep. He was stronger than this.

 

Blue flew out of her hangar with ease, joining up with the rest of the paladins. They kept close to the castle for protection, but far enough to attack when necessary. It was eerily quiet between the five of them, so much that for a minute Lance thought he had accidentally turned off the comms. 

 

After what felt like forever, Shiro broke the tense quietness. “Keep alert, team. We need to move forward more so that we are in proper formation. Remember your training. Allura, it’s time to raise the particle barrier.”

 

The barrier raised without any problems and Lance moved Blue just a little bit forward. It had been a while since he was in Blue, not since before the castle was infected with that death-seeking virus. The endless space in front of Lance made his anxiety peak. If it weren’t for the comforting glow of Blue’s control panel, he might have slipped into a panic attack.

 

His eyelids felt heavy…

 

Then, he saw them. Allura had underestimated the number of ships heading their way. There was  _ no way _ that this was just one fleet. It had to be three of them combined at the least. 

 

“Alright, team,” Shiro started, “Let’s go!”

 

The team cheered together and charged forward, facing the hundreds of ships head on. The adrenaline spike managed to push Lance’s fatigue to the back of his mind for now. 

 

He shot at the ships repeatedly, setting off chain reactions that destroyed caused massive explosions. The violence of it all kept him focused on the task, blissfully awake and alert. It was a nice change from the drowsiness he felt all week. The comms were quiet, except for occasional grunt when someone was hit with a blast. Though it didn’t happen often when they were all there defending one another.

 

Lance noticed a ship sneaking up behind Hunk’s lion, it’s canons charging up to fire at Yellow. Pushing Blue forward, he grabbed the ship’s wings in the jaw of his lion’s mouth, tossing it at a cluster and watching them erupt.

 

Lance heard Hunk sigh with relief over the comms. “Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

 

Lance just nodded, forgetting that Hunk couldn’t hear him. 

 

Despite the Galra’s large numbers, they were not well defended. It did not take very long to cut through half of the fleet’s ships. There was obviously no need to form Voltron, which secretly made Lance relieved since he wasn’t confident he would be able to focus long enough for it.

 

While he was distracted taking out a small cluster of ships, one of them had snuck up behind him, charging for a blast. Before he could react, it was too late.

 

“Lance, watch out!” Hunk yelled. Lance spun his lion around just in time for the blast to fire. It hit Blue directly, sending the robotic lion spinning away from the battle and out into open space.

 

Lance never felt so grateful for his helmet or more resentful towards his body structure in his life. When Blue was sent flying, the seatbelt did absolutely nothing for him and Lance had slid out of his chair like a stick of butter. He crashed into the ceiling and fell back to the floor with a loud crash. He was sure he was going to have some nasty bruises to deal with later, but anything was better than dealing with a concussion. 

 

His helmet’s comms were on fire with worried teammates. Hell, even Keith sounded concerned for Lance in his own, emotionally-constipated way. Lance coughed into his fist and answered their worried yelling.

 

“Don’t worry, guys, I’m alright.”

 

Everyone collectively sighed. “You should have been paying more attention to your surroundings, idiot,” Keith snapped.

 

Yep, there were his typical snarky comments. “Wow, I’m feeling the love here. Thanks, Keith.” Lance could  _ feel _ the other rolling his eyes.

 

Lance pushed himself up onto his knees, groaning when the world spun around him and his head pounded with the beginnings of a headache. Hunk worded his concern, but Lance brushed him off. He crawled his way back to the pilot seat, not trusting himself to stand up and walk without collapsing. 

 

Once on his seat, he finally noticed that there was something very wrong. The gentle glow of Blue’s dash was gone, drowning the cockpit into a dim darkness. Even though there was still light provided from the stars out the window, they did the opposite of comfort him.

 

Suddenly, he felt weightless. He was frozen in place and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get his body to obey him. The vastness of space seemed to swell towards him, inviting him to jump into dark pools of nothingness it provided.

 

Cold.

 

_ Dark. _

 

**_Empty._ **

 

His hands were shaking again.

 

“Lance? Are you there buddy?” Hunk asked. 

 

“Lance, what’s going on?” Shiro asked next.

 

He couldn’t control his breathing. Space was swallowing him whole. He couldn’t move, he was slipping, he was slipping,  _ he was slipping, HE WAS SLIPPING- _

 

His vision was starting to fail him again, tilting and contorting until the stars blurred together into long streaks of white. His chest was tight, his throat squeezed shut.

 

_ He couldn’t get any oxygen, he was going to die. _

 

“Hunk! Take Lance’s lion back to the castle! I think it went offline. Pidge, Keith, and I will take care of the rest. Don’t worry, we are just wrapping up.”

 

Lance couldn’t register what his teammates were saying. Why were they not here? Why were they letting him get lost in space? His stomach felt sick and he couldn’t focus on anything.

 

He noticed the yellow lion coming towards him and his head dropped down right before his vision finally blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the slightly-less angsty part!! Hunk's just trying to look after you, Lance.

The airlock was actually very spacious, but when impending death is just beyond the door, everything suddenly feels cramped.

 

The said door was unlocking and Lance knew the routine: Hear the door unlocking, grab for something, anything, but eventually lose grip and face suffocating death.

 

He played along with it simply because it delayed the inevitable. Lance blindly reached out for the protruding metal on the sides of the airlock, desperately clinging to it. He didn’t hear the airlock opening so much as he heard it opening.

 

The air was cold, painfully teasing his lungs as it raced past, too fast for Lance to breathe it in. As he slowly suffocated, his grip weakened as it usually did and there he went out into the void.

 

As usual, the death was icy and painful, forcing Lance awake.

 

* * *

 

 

“Lance! C’mon, buddy, I need you to wake up!”

 

Lance blearily woke up to Hunk panicking and shaking him awake. Relief flooded the teen’s face when he saw his friend open his eyes. The fluorescent lights hurt Lance’s head and he rubbed at his eyes.

 

“Holy shit, thank goodness you’re up,” Hunk said, relief and tears choking him up. “I seriously thought you were going to die or something.”

 

Lance groaned, trying to hide away from the ceiling lights. “I feel like I did. Where are we?”

 

“Medbay. Coran said he would be down here soon, but that I should go ahead and check you up first.” Hunk pulled Lance into a hug, relaxing and warm, so different from his nightmares. “You really scared me out there, man,” Hunk sniffled, “You weren’t answering your comms or anything and your lion was inactive. All we could hear was your breathing, which, by the way, sounded like you were having a panic attack.”

 

Hunk pulled away from the hug, forcing Lance to make eye contact. “What happened out there?”

 

Lance looked away in guilt. He hadn’t meant to make his friends so worried. He just didn’t want to be the weakest link in the chain as usual. “It was nothing.”

 

“Lance,” he forced Lance’s chin up, “I’ve had many panic attacks in my lifetime and lemme tell you, they aren’t the best. And from what I heard out there, that wasn’t nothing.”

 

Lance sighed, resting his forehead on Hunk’s firm yet soft chest. “I… I can’t talk about it right now.”

 

Hunk looked guilty for pushing his friend to spill it, so he took it down a notch. “Okay, but expect me at your door later tonight with food and an ear to lend because bros don’t let bros suffer alone.” Hunk smiled when Lance puffed out a weak laugh.

 

“You really don’t have to do that.”

 

“Oh, shush. I’m doing it because you’re my friend and I’m well aware of that tendency you have to keep things to yourself.”

 

Lance sighed again. “You know me too well. Hug?”

 

“No need to ask,” Hunk said, pulling Lance into his arms, feeling the smaller boy melt into the embrace. Eventually, they had to pull away, much to Lance’s dismay.

 

“Alright, Coran told me I need to check for a concussion so let’s do that real fast,” Hunk said, breaking through the tension. He helped Lance over to one of the examination tables, holding him upright when he almost passed out.

 

“Alright, keep your eyes open,” Hunk said, shining a light into Lance’s eyes without warning. Lance moaned in discomfort, trying to turn away, but Hunk held his face forward by the chin. “Come on, man. The faster we do this the faster you can take your nap.”

 

Hunk shone the light again, making Lance winced. At least have the decency to look a little bit guilty! Hunk hummed, switching over to Lance’s other eye. “Well, your pupils are dilating normally, so that’s good. Any headaches?”

 

Lance nodded, immediately regretting it when a migraine pounded behind his skull.

 

Hunk hummed again. “And I can already see you’re being unusually sensitive to light, so I’m guessing that it’s just a minor concussion. Plus you look like you’re about to pass out any second now-”

 

“Not getting any sleep for a week will do that to you,” Lance interrupted, slurring his words together.

 

“Wait, what? Why haven’t you been sleeping?”

 

Before Lance could say anything, Coran finally entered the room. “Hello, number 2 and 3! The others just landed in their hangars. How are things going down here?”

 

Lance managed to pull a fake smile and a small wave. “Fine. I only have a minor concussion, nothing to worry about.” He ignored Hunk’s upset side glances, not wanting to answer his question just yet.

 

“Are you sure? There’s nothing wrong with not being okay. I’ve noticed you have been somewhat drowsy lately.”

 

Lance could feel Hunk’s gaze on him, waiting for answers. “Just some problems sleeping, that’s all.”

 

The old Altean still looked doubtful, but he shrugged. “Well, if you say so. Now, let’s check that head of yours, yeah?”

 

Coran finished up checking Lance’s condition and deemed him fit enough to go. Lance hopped off the examination table, stumbling over his own feet. He would have crashed to the ground if Hunk hadn’t reacted and caught him one-handedly.

 

“Thanks, bud,” Lance said, racing out of the room.

 

“Wha- Lance, wait!” Hunk cried, chasing after the boy. For someone who could barely stand on his feet, he sure moved fast. He finally caught up to Lance halfway down the hallway, finding him already out of breath and using the wall as a crutch.

 

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Hunk felt Lance flinch before turning around. In the lighting, he was able to see the deep shadows under his friend’s eyes and how pale he looked.

 

“Dude, what did you mean you haven’t slept in a week? Tell me what’s going on, Lance.”

 

Lance shrugged his hand off his shoulder. “I told you that I would tell you later,” he snapped.

 

“You said that for what happened in the blue lion! I’m asking about why you look like death warmed over!”

 

“Well, have you thought that maybe they’re related?” Lance bit out, trying to walk away from Hunk. Except he reached out for Lance’s shoulder, effectively keeping him in place.

 

They were both silent before Lance sighed. “Look, I told you that I’ll tell you later. Remember what you said about the food and all that? Just… Come after dinner. I’m going to sleep.”

 

Lance stumbled down the hallway and Hunk was left behind dealing with intense guilt and anxiety festering in his chest.

 

* * *

 

 

When Lance had told Hunk he was going to sleep, he hadn’t actually meant it. “Going to sleep” in reality meant laying down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling have a miniature crisis because your body was slowly killing itself.

 

All of the lights in the room were off except for a small nightlight Lance managed to find in some ancient Altean storage room. It glowed a warm gold, soothing his frayed nerves and keeping the nightmares at bay. For now, at least.

 

His eyelids felt like they weighed the same as his body, but he refused to close his eyes for even a second. Lance felt like he could beat anyone at a staring contest right then and there.

 

Even from under his pile of blankets, he could feel the ice eating him away. He huddled himself into a corner, trying to ignore the empty feeling in his stomach from skipping dinner. He didn’t want to leave the safety of his room. An irrational part of him felt that if he were to open his door, the void of space would be waiting for him on the other side.

 

His stomach growled again for the thousandth time. Lance curled in on himself more, trying to keep the pain away.

 

There was a knock on his door and he felt a lump rise in his neck. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Hunk waiting for him to give the go ahead. He tried to invite him in, but the words go caught in his throat. Just thinking of the door opening up made his anxiety spike.

 

“Lance? You alive in there?” Hunk tried joking.

 

“Y-yeah. Come on in.”

 

The door slid open and Lance felt like his heart jump in his throat, anxiety still present even after Hunk stepped into the room. Lance looked through the doorway, taking in that no, there was no void waiting to grab him.

 

Hunk held a bowl of food goo in his hands, still standing far away, not sure if Lance wanted him close to him or not. “Hey, buddy. How are you doing?”

 

Lance groaned.

 

“I, uh, brought you some food if you are hungry. You never showed up for dinner.”

 

Lance’s stomach growled, giving him away. Hunk chuckled awkwardly, walking to Lance’s bed and sitting at the edge. He tried handing the bowl to Lance, but he refused to move his arms from the blanket burrito.

 

“Too cold. You feed me.”

  
Hunk laughed and rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic. Open up, you big baby.”

 

When the bowl was empty, they were closer together. Hunk was all the way on the bed, Lance’s head resting on his shoulder as the other stroked through his hair. While the blankets did nothing, Hunk kept the chills away.

 

“So,” Hunk started, giving Lance time to prepare, “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or am I gonna have to rip it out of you.”

 

Lance laughed lightly. “Blunt, aren’t you?” He paused, gathering his thoughts together. Hunk was patient, giving his friend his time.

 

Taking a shaky breath, Lance started. “You remember the castle going all evil a week or so ago, right?”

 

Hunk snorted. “How could I forget? The kitchen attacked me and I was stuck swimming through zero gravity. Not to mention how Allura almost flew us into a flaming ball of death.”

 

“Yeah, of course, you haven’t forgotten, stupid question.”

 

“Shush, no such thing as a stupid question. Unless if it’s asking if pineapple belongs on pizza because the answer to that is always yes.”

 

“Hunk, I know you’re in denial, but pineapple pizza is a menace that needs to die in a ditch behind Walmart.”

 

“Lance, I will fight you in the Denny’s parking lot if you ever say that again. Anyways, we are getting off-track. Continue.”

 

“Ugh, but I prefer this conversation,” Lance pouted. “Okay, so I know the kitchen attacked you and Pidge, Keith almost got killed by the gladiator, and Allura had to basically erase the last contact she had with her dad, correct?”

 

Hunk nodded. “And then you were stuck in a cryo-pod and then an airlock.”

 

“Yep, spot on there, buddy.”

 

“I think I can see where this is going,” Hunk said, continuing to rake his fingers through Lance’s hair. “Sorry, I’m interrupting. Go on.”

 

“Yeah, so all of that’s over with, right? Except, I can’t sleep because of it!” Lance yelled angrily, his arms emerging from the blanket burrito to exaggerate the story. They wrapped around his torso as he relived his nightmares all at once. “Every time I try to sleep, or even close my eyes, I’m back at the godforsaken airlock.”

 

“Each time, I struggle to stay alive. I cling to whatever I can, slowly suffocating until either I lose the rest my strength or the metal crumbles beneath my fingers. Then, I get thrown out of the ship, as you probably expected.”

 

Lance sighed, leaning further into Hunk’s touch. “Every time, I get hurled out of the ship. And every time, I can feel myself dying.” Lance felt his body start to tremor. “It’s always so cold, Hunk. I can never breathe and I feel my lungs collapsing and the ice growing in my body.”

 

Hunk was silent, probably expecting for Lance to say more, but the shivering teen stayed quiet, his nightmares vivid in his mind. Tentatively, Hunk wrapped his arms around Lance, giving him a side hug. Lance relished in the heat, helping melt away the figurative ice that was suffocating him.

 

“I’m sorry, Lance,” Hunk apologized. Lance was about to ask what for, but Hunk continued talking. “I’m sorry that I didn’t realize what you were going through. But listen, all of it is over now. I know that doesn’t mean the nightmares will stop, but you are safe now.”

 

“You aren’t in the airlock anymore. Keith saved you, remember?”

 

Lance pressed his face into the crook of Hunk’s neck, realizing that tears had managed to slip out. “I know. I’m just so scared of it happening again. When we were fighting today, Blue went offline. It was so dark, Hunk.”

 

Hunk pressed his lips to the crown of Lance’s head, holding him close.

 

“It was cold. Empty. I-I thought I was back in the airlock again,” Lance stuttered. Hunk grounded him from having a panic attack by repeatedly rubbing his hand up and down his back, giving Lance something to focus on other than the fear lodged in his throat.

 

“Lance, remember what I said before. You aren’t there anymore.”

 

“I know.”

 

“And what does that mean?” Lance was silent, not knowing the answer. “It means you’re safe. And I’ll make sure nothing happens again, alright?”

 

Lance was full-on sobbing now, his hands wrapped around Hunk in a death grip. Hunk hugged him back with a softer grip, his eyes watery from Lance’s own emotional display. The two stayed like that for a few minutes, Lance thoroughly soaking Hunk’s shoulder.

 

Eventually, they both quieted down, Hunk gently rocking Lance back and forth, the latter completely free from his blanket fortress and practically sitting in his friend’s lap. Usually, he would have been embarrassed (his flirty exterior was mostly fake), but at the moment, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

 

“You okay?” Hunk whispered into Lance’s ear. He shivered as he breathed against his ear, nodding quickly on Hunk’s shoulder.

 

“Hey, look at me,” Hunk said. Lance pulled away reluctantly, his watery, bloodshot blue eyes looking into Hunk’s honey-brown ones. “You’re safe now, I’m here with you.”

 

Lance sniffed, throwing himself at Hunk for another hug, whispering ‘thank you’ like it was a prayer. Hunk hummed, running his hands through Lance’s hair once more.

 

They both ended up laying down on the bed, Lance’s lack of sleep finally kicking back in. His vision was starting to fail him again, but that did not stop him from feeling Hunk sit up, presumably to leave.

 

Lance’s hand shot out, grabbing the back of Hunk’s shirt. “Stay with me. Please,” he added as an afterthought. Hunk kept him warm in the coldness of space, he was Lance’s oxygen.

 

Hunk laid back down without complaint, Lance’s grip not giving up until he was down all the way on the mattress. This time, he wouldn’t let his leverage slip. The gap between them was too big, Lance could feel the cold seeping into his skin already.

 

“Please,” Lance almost whimpered, shaking from under the covers. “Closer.”

 

When Hunk’s arms were wrapped around him once again, he truly felt safe. Lance pressed his chest against Hunk’s, craving his warm touch. The tremors shaking his body soon stopped and his nerves were calm for the first time in what felt like forever. Hunk’s hands slipped across his back, burying themselves back in Lance’s hair, his nails scraping lightly on his scalp and fingers twirling around chocolate brown locks.

 

When he slipped out of consciousness, he didn’t dream of the airlock. He dreamt of home and his family, playing with his smaller siblings. Hunk was on the beach with him, the two of them sitting on the warm sand, watching the sun set and their hands brushing against each other.

 

The rest of the dream gets hazy after that, but he swears he remembers leaning in towards Hunk when the last rays of the sun peeked over the horizon, their lips locking together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fksjjs I hope you liked the ending! No more nightmares, at least not when Hunk's around. 
> 
> Please leave a review below! Don't be shy. Validation is my only life source. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! It was certainly a ride for me. Although I'm regretting not injuring Lance more cause you know I love that Langst ;^)
> 
> Please leave a review below! I'm desperate for validation, not even gonna lie. 
> 
> If you have a Hance prompt you want to be brought into existence but are too unmotivated to actually do it (story of my life), message my tumblr, https://cinnamean.tumblr.com. I'll look over your prompt and decide if I'll write it or not!
> 
> Thank you for reading! Hopefully I'll hear from you!


End file.
